_The Lion_ is too well known to need a particular description in this place: he is hunted by the Africans in the same manner as the Nimmer; but they do not consider the chase to be so dangerous: the lion is not so active, nor does he climb as the Nimmer does. The Arabs say that if a person unarmed meet the Nimmer, he is sure of being destroyed; but that if, on the sight of a lion, he let his garments drop off, and stand before him undaunted, seeming to defy him, the lion will turn round and quietly walk off. Few people would be inclined to try the experiment for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of this assertion. In the forests near the city of Mequinas the lions are very fierce, and have frequently been known so to infest the roads, as to render it impracticable for the caravans to pass. They are seen also at the foot of the Atlas, where the country is well wooded. The flesh, when eaten, is said, by the Arabs, to inspire courage. _The Bear._—Various conjectures have been formed respecting this animal’s being a native of Africa: from the concurrent testimony of the inhabitants, I am of opinion that it does not exist in West Barbary; it may, however, have been seen (as I have heard it has) in the upper regions of Atlas, which are covered with snow during the whole year. The name given by the Arabs to this animal is _Dubb_.[83] _The Sibsib._—This animal appears to be of an intermediate species between the rat and the squirrel; it is somewhat similar to the ichneumon in form, but not half its size; it inhabits the Atlas, and lives in holes among the stones and caverns of the mountains; it has brown hair, and a beautiful tail (resembling that of the squirrel) about the length of its body. The Shelluhs and Arabs eat this animal, and consider it a delicacy: and it is the only one the Mohammedans torment before death; this is done by taking hold of its fore and hind legs, and rubbing its back on a stone or flat surface for a few minutes, which causes the animal to scream out; they then cut its throat according to the Mohammedan custom. Seeing some Shelluhs in South Atlas performing this operation, and asking their motives for it, they informed me that the rubbing made the flesh eat tender; that in taste it resembled a rabbit, but that without the friction it was not palatable. Being a subterraneous animal, it is prohibited food; but the eating of any forbidden thing becomes lawful to the Mohammedan, by ascribing to it some medicinal property; it is then denominated (Dûah) medicine, and not food: by this evasion, wine is drank by many who are not rigorous Mooselmin. I never saw the Sibsib north of the province of Suse, but it abounds in the mountains of that district. Its motions are so excessively quick, that it is extremely difficult to shoot it.